CNS file photo/Reuters Pope John Paul II bows his head as he prays in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in this March 26, 2000, file photo.

The university has established community partnerships with the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, the Jewish Community Relations Bureau and Jewish Community Federation, and the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library for this event.

Slepitza said the exhibit is powerful and moving. "We hope it serves as a stimulus to conversation," he said. "Pope John Paul II emphasized dialogue as a tool to interreligious understanding. Pope Benedict XIV has also expressed his desire to carry interreligious dialogue forward. It is a vital part of the teachings of the Catholic Church and of Avila University."

In a letter to parish pastors, administrators and school officials, Bishop Robert W. Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph wrote, "I support this endeavor and encourage you to communicate this opportunity to groups within your parishes and schools aware of these opportunities and to consider attending."

The exhibit derives its name from Pope John Paul II's 1993 appeal marking the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising: "As Christians and Jews, following the example of the faith of Abraham, we are called to be a blessing to the world. This is the common task awaiting us. It is therefore necessary for us, Christians and Jews, to first be a blessing to one another."

The four-part exhibit was created at the instigation of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2005. It includes 105 free-standing wall panels with 350 additional images and text panels, 18 flat-panel LCD monitors displaying historical footage, an 8-foot replica of Krakow Ghetto gate and wall, and 20-foot long replica of Jerusalem's Western Wall.

The exhibit opened at Xavier University in July 2005, then moved to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., where it was displayed until 2006. The exhibit has moved to Philadelphia, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City and the Loyola Museum of Art in Chicago, and most recently at the Florida Holocaust Museum.

The first part of the exhibit introduces Karol Wojtyla to the visitor - as a child growing into a young man, his family and his lifelong friend, Jerzy Kluger. Artifacts include little Karol's baptismal certificate and school records.

Part II takes visitors through a replica of the Krakow Ghetto Gate to follow the future pope's journey to Krakow and the dark years of World War II - working by day at a factory and studying for the priesthood in secret. Prayer shawls and shoes from the Holocaust Museum at Auschwitz are displayed in this section.

Part II traces Father Wojtyla's ministry from priest to bishop to cardinal. During this period, 1946-1977, Vatican II initiated dramatic changes in the church's relations with other faiths. As Bishop of Krakow, he established close personal ties with the Jewish community. The biretta Cardinal Wojtyla wore is among his personal belongings on display in this area.

Part IV celebrates the papacy of Pope John Paul II. Among videos and other artifacts in this section is featured a replica of Jerusalem's Western Wall. Visitors are encouraged to write a prayer and place it in the wall, as Pope John Paul II did during his historic visit to Israel in 2000. The prayers will be collected and forwarded to the real Western Wall, Slepitza said.

"The exhibit's story is about the power of prayer and hope. And, it's about relationships, Karol Wojtyla's relationship to Jerzy Kluger, his own family and the families of his friends, and his later close relationship to the Jewish people," he said.

"It isn't often you see the themes of a life carried out in an exhibit," Slepitza said.

In conjunction with the interactive exhibit, several special events will be presented: the 2009 Truman Lecture Series will feature the co-creators of the exhibit; educational programs for students of all ages; inter-faith dialogue workshops, and a theatrical production for young children, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," co-sponsored by Theatre for Young America and Avila University; a play which shows how the human spirit can triumph in the face of adversity.

For more information on the exhibit, see www.avila.edu/blessing.

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